Into The LimeLight Records just issued this statement about an impending charity album set for release next year:

"We are over the moon to announce that we will release the album for the 'Ana - Metal For Charity Project; in 2017. As a label we want to do one project each year for charity and this is such a fantastic cause.

"This charity project has been founded by Marius Danielsen and Anniken Rasmussen. With an impressive all star lineup we will raise money for cancer research. The full 100% of the incoming money will go to this project. There will be two songs by the all-stars:

1. 'Ana' written by Marius and Anniken2. 'Holy' Diver cover

"There will be also some songs on the CD donated by participating bands. The first band donating a fantastic song is Monster from the Dutch metal legends Martyr. More information will follow soon."

Freedom Call will release new album "Master of Light" (reviewed here) this Friday via SPV/Steamhammer, but today a full album stream comes online. Listen to all of the happy metla opus "Master of Light" in its entirety below.

1. Metal Is For Everyone2. Hammer Of The Gods3. A World Beyond4. Masters Of Light5. Kings Rise And Fall6. Cradle Of Angels7. Emerald Skies8. Hail The Legend9. Ghost Ballet10. Rock The Nation11. Riders In The Sky12. High Up More...

Freedom Call released a music video for the new song "Metal Is For Everyone." The song is the opening track from the upcoming new album "Master of Light," which is set for release on November 18th via SPV Records. The video clip features fans from around the world singing the chorus.

"Master Of Light" was recorded at the band's own Little Sun Creek Lounge studio near Nuremberg with Chris Bay and Stephan Ernst. A review for the album can be read at this location.

The track listing:

1. Metal Is For Everyone2. Hammer Of The Gods (streaming here)3. A World Beyond4. Masters Of Light5. Kings Rise And Fall6. Cradle Of Angels7. Emerald Skies8. Hail The Legend9. Ghost Ballet10. Rock The Nation11. Riders In The Sky12. High Up

Good news for all those who didn't get enough light during this, in meteorological terms, rather mixed summer. The coming of the light is near... from the 18th of November 2016, the arrival of "Master Of Light" will put brighten the mood with the familiar positive Freedom Call aura.

Front man Chris Bay promises: "Our fans can look forward to a whole dozen new songs which once again present the different aspects of our melodic metal with lots of fast-paced numbers but also progressive references and balladesque moments. There's bound to be something for every Freedom Call fan."

The album was recorded at the band's own Little Sun Creek Lounge studio near Nuremberg with Chris Bay and Stephan Ernst and features the following track listing:

German power metal act Freedom Call issued a new single and lyric video for "Hammer of the Gods." The song is taken from the band's upcoming new album to be entitled "Master of Light." The release is expected later this year via SPV/Steamhammer Records.

Freedom Call will be appearing at the annual (and sold out) ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta, GA in September.

More information on "Master of Light" is expected soon. Check out "Hammer of the Gods" here:

Glenn Harveston, promoter for the annual ProgPower USA Festival, announced the lineup for the 2016 edition of the Atlanta, Georgia event. Next year marks the 17th installment and will be headed by a U.S. exclusive performance by Fates Warning featuring original vocalist John Arch performing the 1986 classic "Awaken the Guardian" marking the 30th anniversary of the release.

The complete lineup, which was revealed after Anathema's set this past Friday, September 11th, is as follows:

Friday (September 9, 2016):

Fates Warning (USA) "Awaken the Guardian" in its entirety with John Arch. - a U.S. ExclusiveScar Symmetry (Sweden)The Gentle Storm (Netherlands)Freedom Call (Germany)Vanishing Point (Australia)Ascendia (Canada)

Saturday (September 10, 2016):

Devin Townsend (Canada) with special guest, Anneke van GiersbergenHaken (UK)Refuge (Germany)Green Carnation (Norway) ("Light of Day, Day of Darkness" in its entirety. - a U.S. Exclusive)Serious Black (Multinational)Savage Messiah (UK)

In addition, 2016 will see the Midweek Mayhem and Kick Off Shows merge into the main festival, to be known as ProgPower USA Days 1-4. Going forward, Wednesday's show will be a joint presentation of Milton Mendonca of Infinity Concerts and Nathan Block of Swordlord Productions and Thursday will feature three bands, each a selection of the three promoters, all of which will be the caliber of band that could headline any day.

Tickets will be sold separately for the first two days (Wed/Thur) and then the second two days (shown above). The first ticket sales for Days 3-4 (lineup above) will go on sale via Ticketmaster on October 3, 2015. Tickets for Days 1-2 go on sale go on sale November 7th (more info coming). More...

2014 saw Freedom Call heavily playing on the "Light Over The Beyond" tour, supporting the "Beyond" album.

With the return of founding member, bassist Ilker Ersin, and the addition of "drum wizard" Ramy Ali, an unstoppable force has been created and the band is already back at full steam in 2015.

Freedom Call now declares a very unusual and hellish anniversary: 666 weeks since the genesis of "Eternity." This occasion will see the re-release of the 2002 album "Eternity," in a very special 2 CD digipak edition with tons of bonus material, including the brand new hymn "666 Weeks Beyond Eternity."

"Eternity - 666 Weeks Beyond Eternity" will be released in Scandinavia on April 22nd, in Germany on April 24th, in Europe on April 27th and in the USA on April 28th as a 2 CD digipak version and download through SPV/Steamhammer. More...

German power metal act Freedom Call released a music video for the new track "Union of the Strong." The song is the opener of the forthcoming new album "Beyond," which is set for release on February 24th (EU) and March 4th (USA) via Steamhammer/SPV Records.

The track list for "Beyond" is:

1. Union Of The Strong2. Knights Of Taragon3. Heart Of A Warrior4. Come On Home5. Beyond6. Among The Shadows7. Edge Of The Ocean8. Journey Into Wonderland9. In The Rhythm Of Light10. Dance Off The Devil11. Paladin12. Follow Your Heart13. Colours Of Freedom14. Beyond Eternity

I woke up with a four alarm hangover….it was my birthday! For the second year in a row, I just couldn’t believe that I would spend it in such “majesty on the seas” with bands I admire and musicians I worship. I rose after just 4 ½ hours and reached for the knife that felt buried in my left temple. A quick look out the porthole of the room revealed a cloudy, foggy and rainy day. I stumbled to the shower and managed to get ready for the first show – Atrocity on the pool deck. I took the elevator to floor 11 to get some breakfast and I peaked through the back stage door (just out the elevator) and the rain was torrential. Ok…how is this going to work? More...

With the 2014 installment of 70,000 Tons of Metal in the books, footage of various bands filmed by Metal Underground.com is available for viewing below. Road Reports for the first three of four days of the event can be seen here:

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced the final band just as the floating festival sets sail today. It was no surprise as Germany's Atrocity was named. The band makes up the majority of Leaves' Eyes, who are also on the cruise, and both acts will set out on a North American Tour with Moonspell this weekend right after the cruise returns to Miami on Friday morning (see tour dates here).

The sold out event will set sail at 4:00pm today from Miami with a stop at Costa Maya, Mexico on Wednesday before heading back to Miami on Friday morning. Metal Underground.com will also be onboard to provide daily reports on all of the festival activities.

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced two of the final three acts as the final weekend before the floating festival sets sail in three days (Monday, January 27th) has arrived. California's Nekrogoblikon and Tampa death metal act Massacre were welcomed onboard in the last 24 hours.

Massacre will be performing some songs from their forthcoming album "Back From Beyond" during the band's two sets.

In addition, UMC reported that the event has sold out, however there are still single tickets in shared cabins still available. For more information, head on over to www.70000tons.com. The cruise dates are from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. Metal Underground.com will also be onboard to provide reports on all of the activities.

There is at least 1 more band to be announced (it is unknown whether any add on acts will be announced as have been in past years) and the current lineup including the latest is as follows:

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, launched another volley of acts for the upcoming floating festival, which sets sail in 11 days: New Jersey's Swashbuckle, Norway's Keep Of Kalessin and International act Twilight Of The Gods.

For Swashbuckle, it will be the band's second appearance on the cruise and Twilight of the Gods appeared on the first cruise as a Bathory tribute band and will pay homage to Quorthon in one of the band's two sets this year.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Swashbuckle, Keep Of Kalessin and Twilight Of The Gods join the previously announced acts, with 3 more bands still to be announced:

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, launched another volley of acts for the upcoming floating festival, which sets sail in 11 days: Germany's Freedom Call, Boston's Unearth and Danish death thrashers Hatesphere.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Freedom Call, Unearth and Hatesphere join the previously announced acts, with 6 more bands still to be announced:

The German melodic metal band Freedom Cal has scheduled a March 4th, 2014 North American release date for latest studio album, "Beyond."

The album will be released as a limited box set version including bonus CD, book and poster, a 2LP gatefold colored vinyl version including bonus tracks, a digi version, and download.

"Beyond" was recorded by the current line-up featuring Chris Bay, Lars Rettkowitz (guitar), Ilker Ersin (bass) and Ramy Ali (drums) at the Separate Sound Studio in Nuremberg and Freedom Call's own studio. The album was produced by Chris Bay and Stephan Ernst.

The box set track listing is as follows:

1. Union Of The Strong 5:022. Knights Of Taragon 4:443. Heart Of A Warrior 3:134. Come On Home 4:035. Beyond 7:496. Among The Shadows 3:457. Edge Of The Ocean 3:378. Journey Into Wonderland 3:599. In The Rhythm Of Light 4:0310. Dance Off The Devil 3:4511. Paladin 4:0912. Follow Your Heart 3:5113. Colours Of Freedom 4:1514. Beyond Eternity 3:03 More...

Melodic "happy metal" act Freedom Call will release "Ages Of Light" on April 29th, 2013 (May 7th 2013 in the U.S.) and will mark the band's 15th anniversary.

Today Freedom Call is pleased to debut a brand new video for the song "Rockin Radio," which can be found on disc two of "Ages of Light." The band has teamed up with Noisecreep for the exclusive premiere. Check out the video for the "Killerbilly Version" of the song right here. More...

Melodic metal act Freedom Call's balance sheet is certainly something to be proud of: the group surrounding vocalist/guitarist Chris Bay has released a total of seven studio albums and two live releases. Freedom Call is also ever-present live on the stage, having toured not only with the likes of Saxon, Edguy, Blind Guardian, and Hammerfall, but also having played successful tours on its own since 2010.

Freedom Call's exceedingly melodic songs are frequently referred to as "happy metal," with the group earning the title of "Happiest Metal-Band In The World." The release of "Ages Of Light" on April 29th, 2013 (USA: May 7th 2013) is set to mark the band's 15th anniversary. The following press release was issued about the upcoming collection:

"This full-to-the-brim best-of release includes 18 classics from their creative career to date, among them 'We Are One' from their 1999 debut, the anthemic 'Freedom Call' off Crystal Empire (2001), 'Warriors' and 'Land Of Light' from their 2002 release Eternity, a live version of 'Metal Invasion' and the topical 'Power & Glory' off Land Of The Crimson Dawn (2012). 'Those 18 numbers are usually celebrated at our gigs, or even requested with a vengeance,' explains Chris Bay, who has another real ace up his sleeve: the bonus CD Masqueraded presents six Freedom Call tracks in new and unusual guises: a ska version of 'Metal-Invasion', 'Mr. Evil' as a melodic reggae track, 'Hero On Video' as a speed ska number and 'Rockin' Radio' (which is also supported by a video clip) in a killerbilly version.

"Masqueraded is complemented by 'Freedom Call' in campfire strumming style (including music sheet/tablature) and 'Age Of The Phoenix' in a power swing outfit. It would hardly be possible to present these tracks more colourfully or diverse. Bay adds, 'Our intention with Masqueraded was to inspire musicians and music fans to create their own, personal version of one of our songs - irrespective of musical style - and send it to us.' More...

Luca Turilli's Rhapsody announced the first leg of the "Cinematic World Tour" to commence in Annecy, France on November 9, 2012 with support from Germany's Freedom Call and Orden Ogan as well as Italy's Vexillum.

Bassist Samy Saemann of the power metal band Freedom Call, who fell ill after the band's recent performance at Bloodstock in the United Kingdom, issued the following statement to fans about his condition:

"Hi Callers & friends,

"Thank you so much for all the get well wishes, it's good to know there's somebody outhere who's thinking of me:) Meanwhile I'm on the right way to recover. After a gastroscopy and two days of eating gruel and biscuits in a german hospital they could find out the reason of my illness. A 3 cm long chap in the stomach lining caused by a badly vomitting. But, ..."doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" and in this case the injury is healing. A special thanks again to the Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, it's staff was taking care of me in a touching and unbureaucratic way. Also a big thanx to the airline KLM, which provided a unbelievably great service. I also wanna say thanx to Chris [Bay, vocalist/guitarist], who joined me in this difficult situation, supported me and was there for me. Now I'm ready for a new show on Friday, 25 August in Oberwolfach, this time without blood soup, but with fennel tea and cakes!"

On August 11, 2012, the band had just completed its set at Bloodstock and was heading for the airport when Saemann fell ill. Staff at KLM Airlines keep close watch and care as they flew the band back to Nuremberg. Freedom Call is currently touring in support of the latest album "Land Of The Crimson Dawn" (reviewed here). More...

Finnish pagan metal outfit Moonsorrow and German power metal group Freedom Call have been confrmed as the latest two bands to take part in this years edition of the British metal festival, Bloodstock Open Air, which will take place at Catton Hall in Walton On Trent, Derbyshire from August 10th-12th.

Speaking on the confirmation, Moonsorrow stated: "We are truly excited to take part in Bloodstock Festival 2012. It's been way too long since we played on the British soil in 2008 and we know that lately there has been a huge demand for Moonsorrow to play in the UK. So, all our loyal fans in the UK, we want to see a massive crowd of insane berserks during our set. Don't let us down because we promise we don't let you down, cheers!"

Freedom Call added: "The Bloodstock Festival is the pulsating heart of Heavy Metal...a great audience, which knows exactly to revel."